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Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays

David Foster Wallace

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 48 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Smart, eclectic, and hilariously funny. 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Full disclosure: I have a major intellectual crush on David Foster Wallace. Yes, yes, I know about his weaknesses - the digressions, the rampant footnote abuse, the flaunting of his amazing erudition, the mess that is 'Infinite Jest'. I know all this, and I don't care. Because when he is in top form, there's nobody else I would rather read. The man is hilarious; I think he's a mensch, and I don't believe he parades his erudition just to prove how smart he is. I think he can't help himself - it's a consequence of his wide-ranging curiosity. At heart he's a geek, but a charming, hyper-articulate geek. Who is almost frighteningly intelligent.

The pieces in "Consider the Lobster" have appeared previously in Rolling Stone, The Atlantic Monthly, the New York Observer, the Philadelphia Enquirer, Harper's, Gourmet, and Premiere magazines. Among them are short meditations on Updike's `Toward the end of Time', on Dostoyevsky, on Kafka's humor, and on the `breathtakingly insipid autobiography' of tennis player Tracy Austin. An intermediate length piece describes Foster Wallace's (eminently sane) reaction to the attacks of September 11th. Each of these shorter essays is interesting, but the meat and potatoes of the book is in the remaining five, considerably longer, pieces. They are:

Big Red Son: a report on the 1998 Adult Video News awards (the Oscars of porn) in Las Vegas.
Consider the Lobster: a report on a visit to the annual Maine Lobster Festival (for Gourmet magazine).
Host: a report on conservative talk radio, based on extensive interviews conducted with John Ziegler, host of "Live and Local" on Southern California's KFI.
Up Simba: an account of seven days on the campaign trail with John McCain in his 2000 presidential bid (for Rolling Stone).
Authority and American Usage: a review of Bryan Garner's "A Dictionary of Modern American Usage" , which serves as a springboard for a terrific exegesis of usage questions and controversies.

Here's what I like about David Foster Wallace's writing: I know of nobody else who writes as thoughtfully and intelligently. That he manages to write so informatively, with humor and genuine wit, on almost any subject under the sun is mind-blowing - it's also why I am willing to forgive his occasional stylistic excesses. (Can you spell `footnote'?) You may not have a strong interest in lobsters or pornography, but the essays in question are terrific. The reporting on Ziegler and McCain is amazingly good, heartbreakingly so, because it makes the relative shallowness of most reporting painfully evident. Finally, the article on usage is a tour de force - when it first appeared in Harper's, upon finishing it, I was immediately moved to go online and order a copy of Garner's book (which is just as good as DFW promised).

How can you not enjoy an essay that begins as follows?

"Did you know that probing the seamy underbelly of US lexicography reveals ideological strife and controversy and intrigue and nastiness and fervor on a near Lewinskian scale?

....... (several other rhetorical questions) ......

Did you know that US lexicography even *had* a seamy underbelly?"

And which later contains sentences such as:
"Teachers who do this are dumb."
"This argument is not quite the barrel of drugged trout that Methodological Descriptivism was, but it's still vulnerable to objections."
and - my personal favorite -
"This is so stupid it practically drools."

Not everyone will give this collection 5 stars, but I do.

Editorial Review:

Do lobsters feel pain? Did Franz Kafka have a funny bone? What is John Updike's deal, anyway? And what happens when adult video starlets meet their fans in person? David Foster Wallace answers these questions and more in essays that are also enthralling narrative adventures. Whether covering the three-ring circus of a vicious presidential race, plunging into the wars between dictionary writers, or confronting the World's Largest Lobster Cooker at the annual Maine Lobster Festival, Wallace projects a quality of thought that is uniquely his and a voice as powerful and distinct as any in American letters.

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes

Thomas Cathcart, Daniel Klein

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 125 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Horrible both philosophically and comedically 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I'm a Ph.D. student in philosophy and I bought this to see whether any of it was worth using in an Intro to Philosophy course. None of it is worth using for that purpose. It does every topic an injustice: usually false or misleading; at best superficial. Nor is it funny; although I agree with Wittgenstein that good, serious philosophy could be written consisting entirely of jokes.

James Grindeland
Department of Philosophy
University of Georgia

Editorial Review:

Here’s a lively, hilarious, not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical traditions, schools, concepts, and thinkers. It’s Philosophy 101 for everyone who knows not to take all this heavy stuff too seriously. Some of the Big Ideas are Existentialism (what do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?), Philosophy of Language (how to express what it’s like being stranded on a desert island with Halle Berry), Feminist Philosophy (why, in the end, a man is always a man), and much more. Finally—it all makes sense!

“I laughed, I learned, I loved it!” Roy Blount Jr.

The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy: Or everything your doctor won't tell you

Vicki Iovine

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1060 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

One of the best books on pregnancy. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

As soon as I read You Know You're Pregnant When. Reflections on the Longest Nine Months of My Life, I was on the search for other books about pregnancy that weren't so, well, depressing. I wanted humor and I got it! This is one of the best pregnancy book, by far, and it really gives you what you want--information about pregnancy without scaring you! Defintely pick this one up!

A must read by all pregnant women 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

One of the best books I read in my pregnancy. Its fun and contains many tips and things people dont tell you!

Love it 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I loved this book. I read the whole thing in a couple of hours. Humorous and informational. I would definitely recommend this book!

OK info for pregnancy, Bad advice on labor 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I think the sections on embarrassing things that will happen to you was very good. Since it was written in 1995, the whole "how to dress" stuff was horribly out-dated. (I haven't seen leggings or a tiger print swim suit in a long time.) The part that really upset me was her whole philosophy on Doctors/midwives and the use of epidurals. They left the reader thinking that the RIGHT choice is to use a doctor, not a midwife. She says to get the epidural as soon as you enter the hospital, and not to even bother trying to go natural. She doesn't disclose that you are way more likely to have to have a cecarian if you have an epidural, nor does she acknowledge that all drugs DO go to your baby, which is why many hospital born babies end up in the ICU. She makes the reader think that you should be scared of birth unless you get the drugs. However, since she has never done birth w/o drugs, how would she know what its like? I would highly recommend the very funny, readable and informative books "lady's hands, lion's heart" by Carol Leonard or "Baby Catcher" by Peggy Vincent instead of this book. Then make your own INFORMED decision on your birth experience.

Editorial Review:

A delivery room veteran gives you the low-down as only the best friend can. From the top ten lies ("Maternity clothes are so much cuter now"), to the long-awaited birth, here are practical tips and hilarious takes on everything pregnant.

The Screwtape Letters

C. S. Lewis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 369 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Enlightening read for committed (and thinking) Christians 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I don't know how well this great book translates to agnostic readers, but for me it was a very enlightening and concrete way to understand what it means to try to be a good man in a world of temptation.

In keeping with the time period, I believe it was Winston Churchill who said "All evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing". In the Screwtape Letters the senior tempter, tells his apprentice, it is just as affective to get a man to stare into a fire until it turns to ash, as to get him to commit some great sin, because either keeps him from doing what he should. I wonder what Mr. Lewis would have thought of digital cable television? I am as guilty as anyone of staring at that box instead of doing good.

So here's the deal.

This is an excellent book for any believer from High School on up, that wants to be good and avoid evil.

But that's just me.

Editorial Review:

Now available unabridged on cassette and CD--C.S. Lewis’ classic Screwtape Letters--the engaging correspondence between two devils. Read by Joss Ackland.

Holidays on Ice

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Hilarious! The new stories are a welcome addition! 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I read the original version of this collection a few years ago and really enjoyed it so I jumped at the chance of reading the stories again and the new additional stories! The new stories are definitely a welcome addition!

Of the original stories, The SantaLand Diaries starts the collection off on a hilarious note. You get to read bout the inner workings of being a department store Christmas elf. The crazy santas, elves and customers! Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!! starts off innocently enough as a family holiday letter and quickly takes a turn for the hilariously insane, like a lot of Sedaris's stories.

Of the new stories, Jesus Shaves is by far my favorite. It had me crying from laughing so hard. I don't want to give anything away, so just trust me, it's hilarious. Six to Eight Black Men was also hilarious along the same line. Definitely learned things I didn't know about how other countries celebrate to holidays.

I wasn't totally fond of The Monster Mash, about a trip to a medical examiner's office, it spoke to my weak stomach and my stomach said no thank you. But it still had it's funny moments.

All in all this is a hilarious holiday collection and the new stories are a welcome addition helping add additional holidays to this collection.

Editorial Review:

David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published story. Along with such favoritesas the diaries of a Macy's elf and the annals of two very competitive families, are Sedaris's tales of tardy trick-or-treaters ("Us and Them"); the difficulties of explaining the Easter Bunny to the French ("Jesus Shaves"); what to do when you've been locked out in a snowstorm ("Let It Snow"); the puzzling Christmas traditions of other nations ("Six to Eight Black Men"); what Halloween at the medical examiner's looks like ("The Monster Mash"); and a barnyard secret Santa scheme gone awry ("Cow and Turkey").

No matter what your favorite holiday, you won't want to miss celebrating it with the author who has been called "one of the funniest writers alive" (Economist).

The Best Book of Useless Information Ever

Noel Botham

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the creators of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Useless Information comes another enlightening, entertaining, and ultimately useless assortment of trivia.

If you find yourself transfixed by the most trivial of trivia, or mesmerized by the most minor of minutiae, The Useless Information Society's latest findings can satisfy your every need. This wide-ranging collection will fill every nook and cranny of your brain with information you'll surely never need, but will enjoy learning anyway!

Did you know...

- that penguins can jump six feet out of the water?
- that everyone is color-blind at birth?

Would you care to know...

- what the first meal eaten on the moon was?
- what country drinks the most Coca-Cola? (Hint: It's not the United States.)

In 1995, a secret society was formed comprising Britain's foremost thinkers, writers, and artists to trade and share in useless information (or, as founding member Keith Waterhouse, playwright and journalist, would have it, "totally bloody useless").

Naked

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 415 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Absolutely fantastic 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This has become a very famous book and it deserves to be. It is certainly the type that has you lending it to all your friends and telling them about which pieces are your favorites. I love reading about his family and am a big fan of sister Amy so whenever there's a mention of her I get excited. So many of these stories are hilarious but there are also others that are incredibly sad. Ashes is an unforgettable read. The last selection, Naked, also has some very memorable moments, but the collection as a whole is extremely satisfying. Lots of reviewers make it seem as though reading the book is one marathon of comedy, but I find that a lot of his writing also has really interesting things to say about society and the way people treat others. A lot of the pieces seem to have pain in them but are presented in a generally light and humorous way. A wonderful book from a very talented writer.

Editorial Review:

Naked is a riotous compilation of stories performed by David and Amy Sedaris. Publishers Weekly praised this program's "smashing use of the audio as a unique entertainment medium" and called the performances "highly likeable and spirited throughout." They also named it one of "the best of the best" tapes of the year, and deemed it worthy of "multiple listens."

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth

Jenny McCarthy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 382 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Awesome 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great book for first time pregnant women--its really funny and quick to read---chapters are really short and you cant wait to get to the next chapter...everyone pregnant woman should read this book and have her husband do the same...lol Ewa K

Editorial Review:

Oh, the joys of pregnancy! There's the gassiness, constipation, queasiness, and exhaustion, the forgetfulness, crankiness, and the constant worry. Of course, no woman is spared the discomforts and humiliations of pregnancy, but most are too polite to complain or too embarrassed to talk about them. Not Jenny McCarthy! In the New York Times best-selling Belly Laughs, actress and new mother Jenny McCarthy reveals the naked truth about the tremendous joys, the excruciating pains, and the unseemly disfigurement that go along with pregnancy. Never shy, frequently crude, and always laugh-out-loud funny, McCarthy covers it all in the grittiest of girlfriend detail. From morning sickness and hormonal rage, to hemorrhoids, pregnant sex, and the torture and sweet relief that is delivery, Belly Laughs is must-read comic relief for anyone who is pregnant, who has ever been pregnant, is trying to get pregnant, or, indeed, has ever been born!

Get Fuzzy®: 2009 Day-to-Day Calendar

Darby Conley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Love Get Fuzzy 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

My sister and I love the "Get Fuzzy" cartoon. Each year I buy a calendar for my sister and myself. I can't wait until the start of each new month to see what cartoon comes up. The cartoons are great and there is plenty of space in each day block to write upcoming appointments or notes to myself of things I need to do. Mine is in the kitchen and I look at it as I grab my first cup of coffee. It's a great way to start the day...with a laugh.

Editorial Review:

There's something for everyone in Darby Conley's popular comic strip Get Fuzzy. Dog people can praise Satchel's sweetness and point out Bucky's generally irascible disposition, while cat defenders can cite Bucky's independence and deride Satchel's overriding cluelessness. Those with even a shred of empathy can pity poor Rob as he tries to manage the interspecies household. All can agree, though, that the 2009 Get Fuzzy calendar is a hilarious way to spend the year, regardless of which side of the invisible fence you're on.* Get Fuzzy was named Best Comic Strip of 2002 by the National Cartoonists Society.

Though Satchel--who sees in only black and white--won't be much impressed, this Get Fuzzy format just got an upgrade. For the first time, each page's cartoon is presented in full color.

The Professional Bachelor Dating Guide - How to Exploit Her Inner Psycho

Brett Tate

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Total reviews: 105 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Pickup Artists' Psychological Secrets to Turn on, Charm, and Seduce almost any Woman.

The Art of the Pickup involves analyzing your target, determine her values, beliefs and weaknesses, and role-playing her desires.
Sexual Persuasion occurs by stimulating her subconscious emotions and desires. You create value and scarcity for yourself, remove her barriers, build trust, and initiate the close. The best Pickup Artists are teasingly cocky, have a cutting sense of humor, and the poise to pull it off with class.

The dynamics of Sexual Persuasion share the same techniques perfected by all great salesmen. Any man with the right tools and attitude can transform himself and create an exhilarating lifestyle he controls with style and ease. Face the facts. Women in courting mode are phenomenal actresses; many devote their whole lives to role-playing, camouflaged appearances, and storytelling. They manipulate men by dangling potential sex to satisfy their ego, play games, or vacuum your wallet. Understanding how seduction works is a double-edged sword. You can either go through life playing the victim, or educate yourself using the techniques to your advantage.
The Professional Bachelor Dating Guide reveals how to:

• Predict, anticipate, & easily influence female behavior.
  
• Create instant attraction and lust in seconds.
  
• 20 Seduction speaking techniques that create Irresistible Sexual Charisma.
  
• Master Speed Dating, eliminate 80% of your dating time & money spent, with a superior closing ratio.
  
• Read women instantly; spot and avoid the Psychos, Game Players, and gold digging cons.
  
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• Know exactly what she wants to see and hear, and feel.
  

Considering marriage? With a failure rate of 50%, the best defense is a good offense. Remove her financial incentive to file with a pro-active asset protection plan well in advance. In straightforward, easy-to-understand terms learn the Advantages, Limitations, and costs: the complete how, what, and where to setup multiple Trusts, FLPs, and LLCs. Learn how to:

• Legally Protect your ASSets from the whims of divorce courts and frivolous lawsuits.
  
• Shield a large salary, limit alimony to one based on a nominal salary YOU choose.
  
• Structure your financial planning and shield your entire estate layers deep and out of sight.
  
• Remove the assets from your name. You Control everything, but own nothing.

Tired of the Chase and want to elevate your Game to the next level? Section three is a Jet-setting Bachelor's travel guide to the best Sex Vacations around the World: where gorgeous young girls compete for you. Spoil yourself rotten, and be a Professional Bachelor.